Blogging Saveur Magazine: The Saveur 100 Home Edition

This year's compendium was a focused homage to the home cook with page after page of practical recipes, essential cooking equipment, and recommendations for pantry staples. How awesome - and useful!

If you don't receive this magazine monthly, it's worth picking up a copy of this issue for the recipes alone. There are instructions for making your own vinegar, mustard, ketchup, and even Worcestershire sauce. These recipes plus those for flavor boosters like harissa and red curry paste make this issue a DIY cook's dream!

It was also interesting to see which books the editor's considered essential for a cook's library. They included primarily general cookbooks like The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan, American Century Cookbook by Jean Anderson, and Parisian Home Cooking by Michael Roberts. The only one we actually own from the list is LaVarenne Pratique by Anne Willan, which given to us on the first day of culinary school and has proven to be a decent culinary reference book.

The recommendations for oils, vinegars, salts, and sugars made us smile, although you certainly don't have to stock 6 kinds of oil or 5 types of salt in order to call yourself a home cook! It was interesting to see what Saveur recommended for each of these pantry staples. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt was a familiar face and the section on vinegars convinced us that its time to move beyond just cider and red wine vinegar!

There was plenty more to love in this list. If you get a chance, we definitely recommend taking a look!